


Quintessence of a Catalyst

by Saraku



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 10:38:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5536763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saraku/pseuds/Saraku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He gave her a smile - a smile that captured both Chat Noir’s flirtatious nature and Adrien’s shyness, and she was reminded once again on what she was about to lose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quintessence of a Catalyst

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve accidentally joined the train to Sintown and I can’t get off. Not that I wan’t to. My first contribution to the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, and I assure you all, I have the papers for my being to be kicked out immediately because it’ll happen. Heed the angst warning, PLEASE.

“Marinette?”

The girl fumbled with her cup, nearly dropping it in surprise when she heard him speak. “Y-yeah?” She stuttered, carefully grasping her paper cup with shaky hands. She peeked through her hair; Adrien Agreste looked somewhat amused by her reaction.

 _How does he do that!?_ Marinette questioned to herself with a small huff, making Adrien’s face light up with a cheeky, yet forlorn, smile. She braced herself for his words.

“Have you...” He paused, faced scrunched up as if he was thinking about the absurdity of his question.

“Yeah?” She pressed, enjoying the small blush that formed on his face, seeing how their relationship showed their true colors.

“I.. Have you ever thought of... what you want to be buried in?”

 

* * *

 

 

The smile of Marinette’s face dropped as fast as her hand went slack and her now empty paper cup danced with gravity. Her mouth opened and closed several times, like an unorganized orchestra. Adrien gave a smile, and Marinette found her common sense.

 

“No - why would I -  why would you _think of something like that!?”_

 

Adrien’s face paled, and he felt his bag sift slightly, chortling in his face. “Well, I get bored during my photo shoots, and my dad is almost never around... and the date...”

 

Marinette went silent; she opted to reach her hand up and pull at Adrien’s sleeve, signaling that he should sit back down. He complied, slouching lazily despite the log they were using as their back holder. “I just... feel lost.”

 

“You’re too wrapped up in your self-doubt.”

 

Adrien furrowed his brows, and a blush came to his face when he realized that her hands were intertwined with his hair, toying with the golden locks. Marinette gave him a warm smile. “Have you forgotten what you have... and what is yours?”

 

She planted a kiss on his forehead, and proceeded to weave a crown of flowers. “Don’t go dying on me,” She murmured, looking at him sadly.

 

“Flowers, Mari,” Adrien stated, staring at the symphonic flower crown,”if you got to choose what flowers you would be buried in, what would they be?”

 

She ducked her head, unable to answer as her throat closed up. She felt Adrien shuffle closer to her, and he felt his hands cup her face, felt him running his thumb across her cheek. “I plan to be laid roses, you know?” He prodded.

 

Marinette nodded - she wouldn’t ask why he was thinking about such things, but she played along, and she opened her eyes. “Forget-me-nots,” she murmured, hiding her face in the crook of his neck in hopes he wouldn’t be able to tell that it was just because they were the first things she thought of, “I would be buried in forget-me-nots.”

 

She heard Adrien give a small, lighthearted laugh. “Forget-me-nots, huh? An unforgettable flower for an unforgettable person,” She blushed, snuggling closer to him.

 

Maybe one day, she and Chat Noir could defeat Hawk Moth, and she could spend more time with Adrien.

 

Maybe one day, everything would be fine.

 

* * *

 

 

She grit her teeth, the falling debris refusing to aide her. The victim threw a sneer in her direction, and she felt a biting horror in her mind as she turned to see glass her way -

 

She’s on the ground, breathing heavily and she lets her mind breathe again when she sees the leather-clad figure beside her, sporting scratches but thankfully, nothing major. Her partner hand’t gotten himself killed.

 

“It seems...” he panted,” that I was... on purr-fect timing... my Lady.” He struggled to get the last word out due to his lack of oxygen, but she rolled her eyes and steadily stood up.

 

“Chat, we are we?”

 

Chat Noir’s eyes steeled, though they still held his playful nature. “Underneath. You blacked out for a bit,” he looked at her flirtatiously, “I suppose I’ll be receiving my reward, meow.”

 

“Oh jeez,” Ladybug muttered with a roll of her eyes, “stop it. This isn’t the time for jokes.”

 

She took a glance at their current situation - three of the four walls were either completely blocked off or unscalable. Their last chance was _literally_  crumbling apart. “Chat!” Ladybug warned dangerously. The movement of blonde hair reassured her, and the Miraculous duo started to scale the dirt and iron walls.

 

...

 

Chat Noir threw himself up into the edge, lending a hand to Ladybug, something she gratefully accepted before her footing was lost to the crumbling debris.

 

“Lets approach carefully, alright?” Ladybug looked his way, and he gave an alluring smirk.

 

“Of course, my Lady. They are in for a _paw_ -blem.”

 

They kept low, looking east and west every so often just to be sure. Chat’s eyes widened as he dragged himself and Ladybug down to avoid a piece of glass-

 

-The glass boomeranged back their way, hitting both of the duo. Chat’s bad luck made him drop to the ground, temporarily blacking out. Ladybug managed to avoid the first one, only to be hit by another barrage that forced her to surrender in pain.

 

She snapped her eyes open and saw mirrors after mirrors coalesce and form a barrier around her and Chat Noir.

 

“Like what you see?”

 

The Glassmaker’s face appeared on each mirror, bearing the same mocking smirk, so incredibly _condescending_ it nearly made her mind explode in a fit of rage.

 

Ladybug lunged at one of the mirrors, smashing it to pieces.

 

“Ah, ah.” The Glassmaker’s face only appeared on one mirror now, still giving a smirk. She also lunged at it, only for him to appear in another. She prepared an attack, turned and ran-

 

Her hand stopped, mere inches from the mirror. Instead of her masked reflection or the poor victim of an akuma, she saw Adrien.

 

The model was shaking, blonde hair streaked with dirt and dried blood. His face was one of mortification and fear, eyes wide and were so scared, so  _desperate_ -

 

“Why, Ladybug?” He whimpered, looking betrayed, “You promised you would protect us - the public. Do I... not count in that? Am I so worthless?”

 

Ladybug couldn’t move, speak, and her mind was screaming ‘You’re not worthless, you’re loved please stop thinking of yourself so lowly PLEASE I LOVE YOU!” Her body stiffened and she couldn’t properly _react-_

 

“CATALYST!”

 

She whirled, seeing a mirror she _knew_  was hotter than a volcano disintegrate feet from her position, Chat Noir’s hand on the surface of the destroyed glass. The glass that surrounded them shattered into pieces.

 

“Are you alright, my Lady?” Chat gasped, looking concerned, “I couldn’t see what you were seeing, but it couldn’t have been good.”

 

She opened her mouth to respond, but saw the coloured glass come their way and she tackled him to the ground, the shrapnel’s barely missing them. Maniacal laughter ensued, but was quickly dropped as the Glassmaker left to wreak more havoc.

 

They heard a beep and Adrien looked at his ring.

 

Four paws. “We need to hurry before you transform back,” Ladybug said, eyes steeled with determination.

 

They ran the tunnel like rats seeking refuge until they came to a stop, peering over corners every so often. “It’s clear,” she muttered and they stepped out to the opening-

 

“GOTCHA!” The Glassmaker screeched at them before waving his glass blower and a light so bright emerged she couldn’t see-

 

“MY LADY!”

 

Ladybug heard the laughter fade as the Glassmaker ran off _again,_  but that was the least of her worries as she looked around and saw _Chat trapped in a glass prison and his ring only had three paws left._

 

“Chat!” Ladybug pounded on the glass, but he either ignored her or didn’t hear her; likely the latter because _he was scrambling with his back to the wall with a look in his eyes she had never seen before._

 

 _“_ S-stop...” Chat whispered, fear dripping in his voice. Ladybug saw an akuma sitting atop one of his cat ears, and fear blossomed in her soul. ‘You’re lying..!”

 

Ladybug wanted to use Lucky Charm then and there, but she knew that if - _when,_  Chat got out of there, he would’ve stated that it was better used on the victim.

 

She was Ladybug, a superhero. But before she was a superhero, she was a friend. Before she was a friend, she was human. She was allowed to be selfish, _damn it._

 

She pounded the glass once more, the inside more and more hazy as Chat continued his delirious mutters. “Chat, he’s _lying_  to you! Come back to us, Chat! Come back to _me!”_

 

He raised his head high enough to lock eyes with her, and his strength seemed renewed. “Chat!” Ladybug cheered, though she could tell that something was so, _so_  wrong.

 

A beep. One paw. “I’m sorry, my Lady...” He whispered, fear evident in his eyes.

 

“Don’t give up, Chat,” she encouraged, desperate for something that would help her _save_  Chat, because the akuma was clearly not in her grasp.

 

A low, short beep. 45 seconds. “My Lady, you must... defeat him,” Chat begged, now shaking as he shook his head, trying to clear the voices that tempted him.

 

‘I can’t do it without you!”

 

30 seconds. “Yes, you can. You always have,” he gave her a bitter smile, “Please... When my transformation wears off... I hope you aren’t... disappointed..”

 

“I could never be! I know that the person behind the mask if as amazing as the person in the mask!” She cried out. 20 seconds.

 

“If you could do me a favour, my Lady.. Please, lay me down on roses.. They’ve always been my favourite..” He flinched, letting out a shout of anger as he shook off temptation, even for a little longer.

 

“D.. No! You see the roses with me, not on you!” 10 seconds, and she was reminded of a conversation that seemed like it occurred such a long time ago.

 

He mouthed words - did he mouth them out or was she just _refusing_  to hear? - and her heart cried out right after.

 

He gave her a smile - a smile that captured both Chat Noir’s flirtatious nature and Adrien’s shyness, and she was reminded once again on what she was about to lose.

 

His transformation wore off; he gave her such a peaceful look, and he had succumbed to Hawk Moth’s _unbearable_  temptations-

 

 _Je t'aime,_ he had mouthed.

 

_I love you._

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by [pookelucy](http://pookelucy.tumblr.com/)'s [art](http://pookelucy.tumblr.com/post/133696843441/im-sorry-my-lady-so-yeahthis-turned-out-a). I just added my own insight into it.
> 
> Please, feel free to send me prompts! My accounts and usernames are on my profile.


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